New Animal Shelter planned for Letcher County

Officials in one eastern Kentucky county are getting ready to build a brand new animal shelter.

This reclaimed mine site is overgrown with grass and weeds, but Jim Ward sees the future, a new county animal shelter.

"The money is here it's already set aside. All we have to do is draw it down once we get our plans. We have some preliminary plans for it," said Ward.

He says Enterprise Coal is donating this property, they are just waiting to sign over the deed. The fiscal court has already budgeted $300,000 for the project, one that Ward says the county needs to help with animal control.

"We can help with animal control. Until we start spaying and neutering then we're gonna have a problem," said Ward.

"We have no place. Right now we have to go to the fire department or somewhere else to do this," said June Maggard with the Humane Society.

Maggard says she has worked to get a shelter built for 12 years, and says the amount of animals is out of control.

"Oh gosh, I have 15 dogs right now. We have dogs all over this county. No one knows unless you go out there how tragic this is," said Maggard.

She says the future shelter will go a long way towards helping Letcher County animals.

Ward says once construction begins, it should be done within six to eight months. The new shelter will hold between 40 to 50 dogs, 30 to 35 cats. He adds there will probably be stables and pastures for mistreated horses.

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